GuitarWorld.com recently launched a new readers poll in partnership with Samson: the Greatest Rock Singers of All Time Readers Poll.

We're certain that, even though our core readership is mainly made up of guitarists from different genres, locations and age groups, you — like us — have strong opinions about the skills (or lack thereof) of some of rock's most legendary singers.

And although we had hundreds of rock singers to choose from, we decided to narrow things down to a mere 16 names, all of which were carefully chosen by Guitar World's editorial staff. We took great care in choosing what's essentially a Sweet 16 starting point. Rock singers from every decade, starting with the 1960s, are represented, as are several rock sub-genres.

From there, we drew singers' names out of a hat (It was, in fact, a Black Sabbath baseball cap) to help us create our opening 16-singer bracket, which is available for your viewing pleasure below. Obviously, none of these of singers are ranked or coming from a previously compiled list, so we chose purely random matchups to have as little impact as possible on the final outcome. We're actually pretty pleased with the way the bracket turned out.

Round 1 and the Elite Eight round have come and gone, and the Final Four round kicks off today! As always, you can vote only once per matchup (once per device, that is), and we'll post two or three matchups per week, continuing with today's Final Four shootout, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin against Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden.

Remember that, as with any poll, sub-genre might occasionally clash against sub-genre, so you'll just need to decide which singer has or had the most to offer within his genre and time period, which one has or had more natural talent or technical skill, which one had the biggest influence on other singers or rock in general — maybe which one was simply the stronger frontman.

Quote: "I got into trouble for saying we're better than Metallica … and it's true! They might be bigger than us and they might sell more tickets than us and they might get more gold-plated middle-class bourgeoisie turning up to their shows but they're not Maiden. I did say it's a bit of a wind-up. I thought, if I'm going to turn into an asshole, I might as well, you know, go for it!"

Comments

There are many great singers who weren't included in the original roster of 16. Can anyone out there really say with a straight face that Kurt Cobain is better than Ann Wilson? Surely, she is among "the greatest rock singers of all-time". How 'bout that dude Paul... what's his name... McSomething... Lou Gramm? Klaus Meine? Steve Walsh? There are lesser known singers who are amazing, as well: Jorn Lande, Russell Allen, Phil Mogg, Ray Gillen. As always, this is more of an overall popularity contest than a "greatest singer" match.

Having sung in cover bands for 30 years, I can honestly say the most difficult material I ever dealt with was Zeppelin and anything with Dio. To me, those two are untouchable. It doesn't matter what they're doing now. I mean, Ronnie is three years gone (R.I.P.). They did more than enough in their day. Maybe Plant can't sing like he did in 1972, but he's in his mid-60s now and besides, NO ONE ELSE COULD DO IT, EITHER - THEN OR NOW!!

For my money, the Top 2 should be Plant and Dio, with a slight edge to Plant because, Sweet Baby Jesus, no one could sing like that dude did in the early 70s and no one ever will.

Guys....It's greatest of "all time". Not the greatest of today. Plant at his peak was the best of "all time". That being said this poll is a joke. Anselmo?? Blythe?? Cobain?? Hetfield??...Please. Yet no mention of Rodgers,Perry,Gillian,Coverdale,Marriott,Anderson,or Stewart???

I agree Cash...Plant had an amazing voice but Bruce has done it longer and more consistently, and the band has a larger catalog. Plus they are still putting asses in seats at stadium sized venues. All hail the prevailing voice that launch NWOBHM and is still cranking. Paul Rogers has had as good a career as Plant and is still a powerhouse (saw him in 2011 with J. Bonamassa)...how did he not make this list? Up the Irons!

Plant had an amazing run, but it ended with Zep. There are kids with doctorates who weren't alive the last time Plant sang at Rock God levels. Bruce is as good as ever, running from stage left to right and belting the notes he sang back when those kids I mentioned were being born.